The City of Kamloops will be picking up the total cost of a project to install a fence and retaining wall adjacent to the CP Rail line in the Victoria Street West corridor.

That is according to Capital Projects Manager, Darren Crundwell, who says he’s hoping that CP and Transport Canada pay for some of the roughly $650,000 cost in the future.

“The challenge we always have though with this situation is that they are grandfathered in,” Crundwell said on the NL Noon Report.

“The railway was there before the road so a lot of those costs do come back to the City. But Transport Canada has rail safety improvement grants that we have applied for and we’re hopeful that we get it the second time around.”

Crews will be working to build a 350 metre long safety fence along the rail line from the Overlanders Bridge to the Sun Life building at 280 Victoria Street West as part of Phase 1. A second phase of the project will see the fence extended from the Sun Life Building to First Avenue, with no timeline on when that work will take place.

“Probably part of the reason [for the fence] is the increased pedestrian traffic in that area and recognizing the need to do something,” Crundwell added.

“We tried to get it done when we had the Victoria Street West project going, but it is yes, a rail safety and City partnership just basically track safety so people are not walking on the rail right of way.”

While this work is underway, Crundwell says all Sahali-bound drivers heading through the Victoria Street West corridor will be detoured over the Overlanders Bridge up to Leigh Road and back over the bridge and up the Summit Connector – similar to a detour that was in place while crews were working on Victoria Street West.

“Obviously, we can’t work on the railway side so we have to work on the road side, so we do need to shut down that through lane that goes to Mission Flats and Summit and that is the need for the detour,” Crundwell said.

These detours will be in place in place from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, until Sept. 23.

Eastbound traffic through the corridor from the Summit Connector and the Mission Flats are will be maintained at all times, as will access to Victoria Street West businesses, though Crundwell says there will be some delays.

The City also says there will be no impact to users of the Rivers Trail which runs between the CP Rail Line and the Thompson River from Riverside Park to the Overlanders Bridge.

WB traffic on Victoria St West will be detoured over the Overlanders Bridge to Fortune Dr, to Leigh Rd, & back over the bridge.

EB traffic on Victoria St West will be accommodated.

Crews will be adding a 350 m fence along the tracks from the bridge to the Sun Life building. pic.twitter.com/MDoZsKs4EJ

— RadioNLNews (@RadioNLNews) September 2, 2022